


Timeless

by orphan_account



Series: Fallen from Grace [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types, The Clearing by Heather Davis
Genre: Abigals a bitch (just sayin'), Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Alternate Universe - The Clearing Fusion, Angst, Cannibalism, M/M, Past Mentions of Abuse, Romance, Slow Build, Time differences, ahhhhh, boy!mischa, fredrick and will are friends, i know that's weird, setting: Idaho not Maryland, some of these ppl are a little country, you can skip to chapter 17 (that's where they meet)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-05
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2017-12-30 17:32:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 6,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Different" for Will Graham was moving from the city to his aunt's trailer. "Different" for  him was meeting Hannibal Lecter in the clearing behind his Aunt's trailer</p><p>Hannibal au.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> _Have you read her fic? It's amazing and I love it. I'm also very greatful that's she's my beta. :)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you ever read this book, and it sounds familair its because most or all of comes from the book, im just trying to be cool and make it a hannibal thing.

Each night he wished for things to be different. He'd lie awake at night in the cool darkness, breathing in the smell of fabric softerner on his pillowcase and listening to the sounds of his parents. And he wished himself far, far away. 

He'd imagine a life far away from the bland new houses in his quiet Seattle cul-de-sac. A life far away from the green, green lawn of his immaculately maintained high school. A life far away from Matthew Campbell and the bruises he left on his arms. And those you couldn't see. He'd admit it, he was dumb, tottaly focused on him, until he forgot Will existed. Then all he wanted to do was vanish for real. To disapper into a mist, never to be heard from again.

Every single night that summer, he would lay awake wishing his life were different. And then one day for him it was… but not in the way you probably think.

∞

 _Different_ was his aunt Bella's singlewide trailer and forty acres of trees and grassy framland. "Are you sure you'll be all right here, Will?" Bella smoothed her dark hair and put on her straw hat. "It's just farmers and old forks in the valley." Mosquitoes buzzed around them in the cooling September air, and Winston sniffed at him uncertainly as Bella pulled his stuff from the bed of her rusty ford pick up.

"Of course Winston and I are happy to have the company, even in our humble adode" 

"This place looks great" he says trying to sound convincing as he glanced at the ramshackle trailer in front of them, with its sagging wooden steps and faded, salmon shapped windsock that flapped randomly in the afternoon breeze. He's seen Bella's home once before, when his mother and him visited Rockville when he was a little kid. The place seemed kinda run-down now, but he didn't care much. He always liked Bella, every year she visited them at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas

Bringing jars of homemade jam and fresh honey from her beehives. And to him, a country life with trees as far as the eye could see and a sun-dappled garden seemed a paraside compared to what he has left. Short of running away, it was his only option.

It hurt him a little when his parents didn't argue with him about moving up there to the town in the North Cascade Mountains. In some ways they were problay releved he was going away for senior year, so they had some alone time. 

His mother agreed with him when he told her he needed to get away. At least she understood that transferring to another high school in the city wasn't going to help when Matthew and his old crowd of friends lived less than a mile away.

And so with a couple days of packing, and then he left with no goodbyes to anyone, except his mother and father, who driven him to meet Bella Halfway between Seattle and Rockville at a rest stop on the highway. He needed to be somewhere different. Maybe he needed to be someone different, too.

Bella helped him drag his suitcases and a box of books up the stairs of the moblie home, Winston trotting behind them and woofing his encouragement. The fresh country air, which smelled of rain and cut grass, disappeared behind the closed trailer door, replaced by stagnation and a damp staleness that seemed to penetrete everything inside. Bella took his coat and hung it on the peg next to hers on rack. Then she wriggled out of her rubber boots while he checked out his new home

At one end of the living room, a wood stove stood on a brick hearth, flanked by a new-looking tweed couch and two bookshelves overflowing with books and DVDs. Off to the left were a kitchen and eating nook, and to the right, a narrow hallway.

"It's smaller than I remembered," he said. Then, seeing Bella face fell a little. "Of course, everything seems big when you're a little kids" he added. The last thing he needed was from him to wear out his welcome in the first ten minutes.

"That is true" Bella said. She opened the wood stove and poked arpund with a stick to stir the fire, then clanked the door shut. "Though I except after the trouble you've had, it'll do you good" Bella gave him a smile that made her look younger. "Be just the balm you need to heal what ails you." He didn't know how much his mom told her about everything. "I'll be okay," Winston nosed at his knee as he gave him a pat.

"Your room's down the hall past the bathroom, sweetie. You get settled and then meet Winston and me out by the woodpile. We've got some splitting and stacking to do for the winter" "sure" he sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

_So that was Aunt Bella's real balm for what ailed me- manual labor. Did sweat and splinters heal a total life implosion? I doubt it_

He wheeled his suitcase down the narrow hall and opened the door with his toe. _Cramped but clean_ , the room had a bed, desk, chair, dresser, and closet. Blue sheeets peeked out from under a white comforter on his twin bed; a hand-stitched quilt was laid across the foot of the bed.

A fresh start. A simple toom in a new place where no one knew him or what he come from. A place to lose himself- and all that had come before.

∞

The next morning, he woke up to the sound of Bella's truck roaring off down the driveway. He sits up in bed, he noticed his arms were sore from last night's chores.

Bella did a lot things the old-fashioned way, and she had a specific way she liked everything done, from the angle in which the firewood was stacked to the way she peeled apples for pie.

Those quirks were going to take some getting used to. He snuggled back into the covers and tried to snooze some more, but his growling stomach motivated him. He headed up into the kitchen for toast and a glass of orange juice.

On the small dinette table Bella left a note. Her perfect old-people cursive spilled a ross the back of a power bill envelope.

_Going to town. Please split some more kindling and then have some fun in the garden. This afternoon we register you for school!_

_Love,_  
 _Bella_

_Hmmm. Fun in the garden probably meant weeding_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will somebody be the best human being in the world and be my full time beta? If do please drop a comment. Oh. And thanks all you guys for kudoes. And comment. Its make me a happy person.


	3. Chapter 3

He spent the next few hours chopping wood, with occasional breaks to throw a stick into the bushes for Winston. It wasn't too hard to make kindling. It was just splitting the quartered rounds into smaller and smaller sticks you could use to start a fire. 

As he worked, he tried to think of what he his friends were doing now- well, what was left of them.

Beverly hasn't talked to him for weeks. He was sure she might try to track him down when she learned that everything he finally told her about Matthew was true.

The last he spoke to her, he showed her the marks he left on his arms. She blamed them on soccer and said that Matthew had warned him, he would be spreading lies about him.

He zipped up his sweatshirt, feeling the slight chill of the grey September day. It was typical Pacific Northwest weather with a cloudy sky that looked ready to dump rain. 

If he was lucky, he had about an hour left of outdoor time before he would be drenched. He focused at the task on hand, slamming down his hatchet into the wood, imagining for a brief second, he imaged he was bashing Matthew head. 

That made it more a little more satisfying than thinking it was just another chunk of fuel that would be used up in the stove when it got all cold out for real. 

He felt better.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sound i make a soundtrack? Drop a comment if i should, i want opinions. (Pretty please)

He was bored with wood-chopping, Winston barked at Will, he picks up the stick he's been throwing a little while earlier, though he's a gentle giant, he has a forceful bark. He sets down the hatchet and throws the stick as hard as he could into the trees, barking like crazy  
Then it stopped, his barking stopped. _Weird_ . 

"Winston!" He yelled, but he didn't come back. After a minute he followed his path he ran past the garden and into the woodlot behind. His feet tamped down ceder needles and moss as he moved through the trees. "Winston! Come!" 

In a rush he whipped around a tree and almost bowled him over, then proudly dropped the stick and started barking again. _Fine, he had a sense of humor_. "Hide-and-seek, huh? Awesome" he says. He stopped barking and sat down in front of him looking expectantly at the stick and then back at Will. He repeated the stares.

Stick. Will. Stick. Will. Stick. "Okay, you win" he picks up the stick and hurls it as far as he could. This time it zoomed past tree limbs and bushes, and Winston went nuts again, barking and dashing away after it, just a blur of brown and black against the late summer greens. Then…again, his barking stopped.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may be a little sad. :(

"Winston!" He yelled. Playing along, he followed Winston's path through the trees and found himself at the edge of a big field. A field that smelled strongly of summer-of warm earth and mown grass. Its a beautiful meadow that he hasn't seen from Bella's backyard. A perfect rectangle framed by tress on three sides and dissolving into a mist on the other.

As he studied the meadow, Winston bounded toward him, carry the stick in her mouth like a prize, he had to smile, he hasn't had a dog for a while. He had one in Seattle named Katie, she was a german sherpand. But unfortunaly Will had to give her away because he was moving here. 

He could still picture his mom's face the summer before last when he came home from a party with a fat lip. Matthew thrown a full keg cup at him-just plastic, but with enough force to bruise to his lip. Matthew apologized the whole way home, but meanwhile, his upper lip had puffed up and looked awful. He stood there in his living room and lied about how it had happened. He told her he caught someone's elbow playing soccer.

She knew he was lying, he saw it in his eyes, and he stood there wanting her to save him, to put a stop to something even he didn't feel he could stop. And she said nothing. At the time, he told himself it was a good thing, that she didn't pry. But looking back, it made him sad.

It only got worse after that. Matthew grabbing him-both hands on his upper arms-calling him names and shaking him when he got mad. Sometimes he apologized, but then other times he didn't-he would just blame Will for setting him off. Then that spring, Matthew told him he'd break up with him if he didn't do _it_. Told him he'd find a pretty girl who knew that would make him happy. Told him if he really loved him, he would go through with it.

Afteward-after _it_ -nothing changed. Nothing, until his so-called best friend caught his eye a few weeks later. He felt so stupid. He went over and over it in his mind, trying to understand why he put up with all that he done to him-and that was worse, why he felt so sad when Matthew gone of with Beverly. 

It was dumb to even care.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaya no school for 4 days, im a happy camper

He felt his breathing change, he was getting upset all over again. He didn't want to cry anymore, not this time. He took a deep breath, focusing on the peaceful field. This place, his new start, was his escape. He never had to see him again.

Sitting up and panting in the grass, Winston was watching him. He could almost hear his dog ESP going, _Throw the stick already_

They played the game again, with him tossing the stick as hard as he could and Winston taking off. The wood cartwheeled against the white sky and then ended up on the other side of the field, just at the edge of the heavy mist. He wondered how there could still be an early-morning fog rolling in from somewhere. That kind of thing normally burned off by midday. Could there be a hidden creek?

He traced Winston's run, ending at the border of the mist. The air seemed dense, like winter when the air is heavy with dew and it's about to freeze. Its strange. Winston obediently stopped in front of him and dropped the stick at his feet. But he was distracted

"Just a minute" he said walking into the coolness a little ways. He could feel it on his skin, like tiny cold crystals-a taste of winter when it was barely even fall. Winston hadn't follwed him, he backed out of the fog and found him waiting there. "Come on" he said, patting his leg. But he didn't come, he sat there, looking into the mist and panting. He called him again, this time he whimpered.

"Fine."


	7. Chapter 7

Figuring he wasn't going to throw him the stick, Winston galloped away to chase after a bee, and he walked back into the misty clearing. It was like the secret place of his suburdan dreams. A thick cloud that swallowed up the day, that enveloped him. A perfect hiding place from the world, he breathed in the cool, cool air and walked foward a few more steps.

Then the weirdest thing happened, he heard something. Metallic. Rhythmic. Swishing like a machine. He was pretty sure Bella had said the closest neighbor was twenty acres away. This was all Bella's land. _So where is the sound coming from?_

He wandered farther into the mist toward the sound. But then he couldn't even see his hand anymore. He could hear Winston bark faded. The metallic sound grew louder. _Swish.Swish._

All at once he felt lost, the sun was blotted out by the whiteness all around, his heart beat faster as he turned in a slow circle, trying to get his bearings, and trying to see which way he come into the fog. _This was what it felt like to disapper, maybe. To lose yourself_

He ran the opposite direction from the sound, panic forcing his pace. At last the strange noise faded and he was back in Bella's meadow, the mist behind me like a big white curtain. Winston ran up barking, sniffing him.

Walking back to the house, he stayed close to the Winston, not sure what had happened in the clearing. Something was out there. Or maybe it was just him in the mist, lost forever.

He went back to stump to split more kindling, the rhythm of his chopping and clunk of the sticks hitting the pile on the ground comforting, familiar. 

Manual was his balm. Maybe disappearing was something he wasn't ready to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late update


	8. Chapter 8

The afternoon, he rode along in Bella's truck as they drove up to the main darg from the school, passing the town hall and library, the post office, and the feed store.

Rockville wasn't excatly a sprawling metropolis-his new hometown was a retail strip and then miles of houses and farm. Maybe in Seattle he would have been embarrassed of Bella's rusy vehicle, but janglng into a parking space at the town grocery store, her truck was just another dirty pickup that needed a good hosing off and a paint job.

"Well, that was a nice surpise, wasn't it? I'm so glad they had room for you to enroll in some advanced classes," Bella said turning off the engine.

"Yeah, it's fine" he said. It didn't really care what classes he took. His new school was super small, just an old-fashioned brick building with hardwood floors that creaked. It wasn't anything like the newly built school he attended in Seattle, but Rockville High had a homey, friendly feeling to it, which was a good thing.

He needed good things, friendly things


	9. Chapter 9

"The secretary showed me the transcript your mother had your old school send. You made some good grades that year before last," Bella said. She adjusted her hat and checked her reflection in the truck's rearview mirror. 

"I did okay. Before" he shrugged. School used to be important to him, he even wanted to be a doctor or something, maybe. Now, he didn't know what he was going to do after it all ended. Maybe he'll start out at community college and transfer somewhere. Maybe study psychology or something if he could through the classes. "Well, it's time for another chance at making those good grades, isn't it?" Bella said, patting his shoulder.

He managed a small smile for her. "Sure, Bella"

She grinned back and then glanced down at his plaid shirt and jeans. "I meant to ask if you needed any school clothes." she asked gently. "There's not much here at the grocery, but we can take a trip down below this weekend" 

" _Down below?_ " 

"That's what we call it when we drive to the big towns farther west as the Skagit River flows. It's not exactly Seattle, but there is a mall"

"I don't really need anything"

"Not even a shirt or…" she signals his plaid shirt. "It might be fun going shopping"

"I don't really care what people think what I wear" he said. "I'm not trying to prove anything" 

"Yes, I think you favor your old Aunt Bella" she replied with a laugh.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank everyone for reading, commenting, and giving me kudeo's. I didn't think anyone would this. And i wanted to thank HannibalWhore24 for being my amazing beta.

"Then again I always wear a plain t-shirt and jeans, though" she grabbed her oversize denim purse. "All right, now let's get some school supplies and a couple of big, juicy steaks. We'll have a nice cookout to celebrate your getting into _both_ calculus and Creative living" "Yeah, _Creative_ living. I can't wait to start whipping up recipes based around refrigerator biscuits. It's great preparation for my adult life" 

Bella winked at him. "There's the familiar sass. You're starting to acclimate kid. By the time you get to school on Monday, you'll be back to your old self"

He wasn't sure Bella meant it in a good way. She didn't know he didn't want to be his olf self ever again.

They entered the store, where the air conditioner was set to please polar bears. The scents of the meat counter, bleachy disinfectant, freshly fried donuts, and overripe tomatoes hit his nose all at once. It was almost to much for him to take in. To top that, the place was packed with families with shopping charts full of geoceries and dirty-faced toddlers. The cashiers do swift business while chattering over a scratchy-sounding country song piped through the PA system.

"You go pick what you need for school, cupcake. Aisle five. I'll get the fixins for dinner" He was almost on autopilot as he moseyed away. He found the supplies in the same aisle with Rockville High School t-shirts and lawn mower replacement parts. He browsed through the sweatshirts and tanks printed with a crowing rooster, and then moved on to finding what he really needed.

"I'd avoid the Marvel Avengers ones" said a short girl pointing at the notebook in his hand. 

"If you get Mr. Price for algebra, he'll mark your assignments down because he doesn't believe in superheroes"

"Thanks for the tip, but I don't have him"

"Ah-but you're new. So, let me guess-you're in trig, right? Then you have Miss Hammond. She appreciates the Avergers" 

He studied the girl. She had on a Rockvillie Rooster sweatshirt and a pair of althetic shorts and hot pink running shoes. Long black curly hair that is tied back into a ponytail and blue eyes.

"Im taking calculus" he said. She looked impressed.

"Ah-ha. In that case, we both have Mr. Zeller, he's neutral on the Avengers. I'm Alana. Alana Bloom" 

"They let people name kids _Alana_ in this town"

She blinked at him."Um, yeah. Why wouldn't they?"

"No, sorry, just I thought everyone would be, like, Sydney or Salem or honey boo boo"

"Were country, but we're not hicks" Alana says, crossing her arms.

"So you're saying all honey boo boo's are hick's?" He replied.

"No, you're the one who-"

He held up his hand. "Kidding" 

A group of girls there age come giggling down aisle five. They're dressed all in Rockville High tees, shorts, and flops. The one with straight dark hair jingled keys in her hands. "What's the deal?" She said siding up to Alana.

"We're supposed to grab some chips and go"

"just saying hi to a newbie. What was your name?"

"Will" 

"Will, nice to meet you," said the straight haired girl in a bored voice.

"I'm Abigail; this is Marissa, and Miriam"

They murmured their hellos and looked him up and down. 

"I'd ask you along to the football team's barbecue, but my car only seats four" Abigail said with an apologetic look. 

"No, no it's all right. I have plans," he said with a shrug.

_Aunt Bella's backyard steaks sounded better than a barbecue with this girl_


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters are getting a little ooc up in here.

"Okay later" Abigail said, moving away. 

"Nice to meet you, Will" Alana said, following the group down the aisle.

"I'll see you next week-in class" 

As they rounded the corner, Abigail flashed him a smirk that seemed more of a warning then a goodbye.

He didn't give a fuck about Alana Bloom, who wasn't even all that great. It almost made him laugh that even in a town as small as this one, high school clique shit happens. And girls protecting their stupid best friends. Bella rounded the corner. "Are you ready to go?" She asked as he placed his items in her chart. 

"Yes" he thought of a cool white mist in Bella's field. He thought of dissolving himself into it. Into the mist of not knowing. Of nothingness. _Maybe, it would be a little scary, but wouldn't it be easier to turn invisible and not have to deal with life?_. Why even get to know kids if they were going to be just the same as the ones he left? 

Two days. He had two days until he had to start school  
He closed his eyes on the way home, letting the wind cool his face and his frustration. _This would be different_ he promised himself. Nobody was going to wreck that for him. He was calm, he could keep it together. 

And if not, there was always the mist.


	12. Chapter 12

_Rockville, Idaho 1943_

Fresh apple pie, the crackle of dry leaves underfoot, snowflakes. Those were the things Hannibal Lecter missed when he closed his eyes. He could feel the summer sunshine on his face and smell the warm earth beneath his toes and ripening strawberries in the nearby garden. Every day about this time, he heard the whir of dragonflies on their mission to the creek. It was familiar, but there was so much he would never know again-at least, he was pretty sure he wouldn't

Lounging in the hammock strung between the cherry trees, he knew he had two hours before his mother would call him to salad. And there was safety in that predictability. He shouldn't complain, he shouldn't tempt fate or God or whatever to take away the miracle he was living.

"Hannibal!" His grandfather called out from the side yard. Yes, it was time to mow the lawn. The ever-greening blades of grass were ready again. Hannibal left his dog-eared copy of _Huckleberry Finn_ in the hammock. He tucked his shirt in as he walked over to the shed, where his grandfather was rolling out the push mower.

"Oiled her up for you"

"Thank you, sir"

"Don't forget the path to the meadow" his grandfather said. "Won't be long before this June sunshine gives away Old Man Winter and we're hauling in wood"

 _No, it won't give away_ Hannibal thought but didn't bother saying it aloud, he couldn't help thinking it. His grandfather turned to go, but then paused. "Your mother's got dinner in the oven. She used our sugar ration to bake you a birthday cake. She went to a world of trouble over you. Don't dawdle"

"Yes, sir"


	13. Chapter 13

_Rockville, Idaho 1943_

His grandfather gave him a pat on the shoulder as he passed. Hannibal had tried, when this all had first come about, to talk to his grandfather about what was happening, but his grandfather had dimissed it as poppycock and sent him to do extra chores as punishment. Hannibal's mother, too, didn't seem to understand the miracle, so he had given up trying and didn't speak of it anymore.

So this now-familiar cycle continued. It began and ended and began again. His birthday came and went, another in the sea of early-summer days they floated upon. It was a safe sea, one that kept them protected from the awful, awful news that had come in late june that first time through.

The sun was high when Hannibal stopped at the edge of the meadow, hearing his grandfather calling. He left the mower on the side of the path to the clearing and ran toward the house, the flavor of the ham so familiar in is mouth, he could already taste it, along with the oniony potato salad. 

Even though that ham wasn't really ham it was his neighbor, his grandfather only knew of his "hobby" he didn't seem to care when he found him at the break of dawn carrying in parts of the neighbor that long time ago, his mother was unknown to the fact of his cannibalsm. But he wouldn't give for something else, _someone else_

He realized long ago, though, that this life had its limitations, its boundaries. Keeping everyone alive meant thay they couldn't simply hike into town and buy something or kill someone else, or go to a another farm to trade them for other things they needed. 

This mist hid them from the world in its protective folds. The mist was their end and their beginning. 

All Hannbal had now was everything he had the summer his world has been destroyed. And that was all he was ever going to have again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the late update. 
> 
> And that i don't anything, all of it belongs to _Heather Davis_ and _Nbc_
> 
> Just sayin.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. I kept putting it off, then i made the soundtrack, which i still need to add another song for it to be even.

_Rockville, Idaho_

"Good grub" his grandfather said after dnner. He patted his belly as he sat back in his chair and let out a sigh. "I have more" his mother said, emerging from the kitchen with a cake on a platter. In her usual blue housedress and slippers, she look pretty but tired. 

It was hard to tell his mother didn't feel well, but Hannibal knew she had spent most of the morning sleeping in her chair next to the radio. "Happy eighteenth birthday, Hannibal" 

Hannibal did his best to put a surpised look on his face. "Thanks, Mother." His mother eyes him as if she could tell he was faking. "Vanillia ice cream was the best I could do. Don't you like that?"

"Yes, it's still my favorite," Hannibal lied. He couldn't tell her after countless slices of the same birthday cake, it was getting tiresome.

His mother set the platter on the table and took a seat. She settled her napkin on her lap and swept her hair in a bun. "I'll make chocolate cake when Misca comes home" she said, with a managing smile. "Won't be long now that the boys have landed on the beaches over there. 

Hannibal nodded, his lips pressdd together, fighting the urgue to tell them what would happen to his brother, what life had planned for the army private.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably spelled her name wrong, and yes she's a boy, and she's older.


	15. Chapter 15

_Rockville, Idaho 1943_

His mother glanced up at the calender, where Hannibal's birthday was circled in red ink, June 14. "Summer's flying by. Don't you boys think he'll be home soon?"

"Yesiree, Misha might even come home in time to help hay" his grandfather said. "Crawford's got some good-looking fields this year. You boys could earn some good money." His mother chuckled. "The last thing Misha is going to want to do is hay. He'll want to call Rosie Grant and take her to the picture show." 

"I think you're right" his Grandfather struck a match, and lit the single candle on Hannibal's cake, and slid the platter closer. "Now go on. Make a wish and we'll eat some of this delicious confection." 

Hannibal blew out the single candle, but he didn't make a wish. He never did. On all the birthdays he had lived, he had never made a wish.

Anyhow, a wish wasn't how all his began. It was a prayer he'd made a few days after his birthday, the night of the final telegram-and then the doctor-had come and gone. 

While his friends were dreaming of the adventures awaiting overseas, Hannibal was kneeling at the side of his bed. As Hannibal had allowed himself tears in the dark, 

he'd prayed for a miracle.


	16. Chapter 16

_Rockvillie, Idaho 1943_

A miracle wasn't the same as a wish. No birthday candle smoke could have wrought the life the Lecter family had been experiencing ever since that night.

"You go finish up that mowing," His grandfather said. "I'll help your mother clean up." 

The sweet taste faded in Hannibal's mouth. "Yes, sir." He left his plate and napkin on the table and pushed his chair carefully into the table. He would mow, and the rest of the day would unfold as the others of his summer always had.

∞

The grass in the clearing at the edge of their meadow was tall. Despite the sun, the clearing was filled with mist as usual. Hannibal had tried once in the beginning to travel through the mist, to see what was on the other side. 

After all, the mist hadn't been there until the morning after his prayer. But as he approached the far edge of the clearing, the mist had thickened into a white dense fog he couldn't see through. And he'd heard a strange humming sound. 

That's when he'd realized it was a boundry. It was the very edge of the Lecter's farm property and perhaps the edge of something bigger. Hannibal had never gone that far into the mist again. 

He'd never dared, lest something happened and he'd couldn't return. He couldn't bear to think of what might do to his family. He didn't know _what_ would happen to them if he weren't there to do what he'd always done-pray that the miracle would continue for another day-and that was infinitely scarier then the idea of getting lost.

He pushed the mower, clipping the grass with a metallic _swish-swish_. He stopped at the side of the path, stooping to pick up some rocks that he always seem to find, and toss them away into the mist. 

It had taken only a few times of rolling over the rocks and having to spend the rest of the afternoon sharpening mower blades for him to remember. As boring as it was, Hannibal was good at mowing this strench of the land.

He pasued to scratch his leg. His mother would probably have lemonade ready by the time he made it back to the house. She would be sipping a glass on the porch and listening to the radio, the music drifting out through the open window. 

Some days he would join her, and others he sipped cool water in the shade. He was behind schedule, it had to be four in the afternoon, judging by the sun. He still had some raking to do, and that his grandfather would need him to help with the garden, after supper that evening.

Hannibal wiped his sweat-beaded forehead with the back of his forearm, the heat really getting to him. Wanting to cool off a bit, he left the mower on the side of the path and stepped into the clearing, arms outstretched so the water droplets in the air could hit his skin. He ran forward, as far as he dared, and the mist of the clearing chilled him instantly. He let out a sigh, and then he heard a voice.

He froze.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be social for a night so here's this chapter.

"Hey!" A boy's voice came again, cutting through the mist. Hannibal didn't know what to do, so he stood there prentending he was invisible. 

It didn't work, a boy walked toward him in the mist-a boy in some kind of plaid shirt and a pair of blue jeans. It was strange ensemble to be sure. Since most of the boys around town wear nicer shirts and more wore out jeans. 

"Hey" he said. "Um, what was that noise?" The boy asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Hannibal blinks at the boy. He was almost tempted to think he was some kind of angel, but no angel he had ever heard of looked like him. Maybe he was a ghost? Or maybe he was from neighbor hear by, the next farm over, and if he is had he found a way to breach the boundry of the clearing. 

"I heard a sound. Like a machine. I was wondering what it was. Or maybe it was nothing. Did you hear it?" The boy sad, mostly keeping his distance. 

Hannibal felt his stare move over his work boots, suspended pants, and short-sleeved, button-up shirt. 

"I was mowing" Hannibal said with a shrug.

" it wasn't a gas mower I heard" the boy said.

"I use a push mower" 

"Really, that sucks, maybe you can use my aunts"

"Thank you, kindly, but my mower's fine" 

"Okay, I'll just leave you alone" 

"Wait, where are my manners? I'm Hannibal. Its nice to meet you"

"Will, Will Graham"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this isn't my work. All of it belongs to _Heather Davis_ and _Nbc_


	18. Chapter 18

Bella cut him a slice of pie and then one for herself. "Ice cream, Will?" 

"Yes please" 

She dipped them each up a scoop, and then they took their plates to the back porch. After a long day of chopping and weeding, he was ready for a well-earned rest and a piece of homemade pie. He kept thinking about the clearing and that boy Hannibal with his old-school farmer outfit. He didn't think people still dressed like that in the country.

The kids in town he'd met wore the same kind of stuff as the kids back in the city. But maybe Hannibal was in some kind of religious group that didn't believe in new technology and homeschooled all their kids. 

He seemed different for sure. "Bella, do any families live close by?" He didn't want to come out and ask her about a guy he just met. He didn't want to go there. 

"Well, the nearest neighbors are the Chiltons down the road." Bella took a seat in one of the rockers and spread a paper napkin across her lap. 

"If you like, we'll ride over there one day so you can meet them. They have a daughter about your age-Fredrick. He plays soccer on the school's tream" Bella gestured toward his plate. 

"How do you like it?"

He took a pie of pie, the crust was crumbly and buttery and the apples tart on his tongue. 

"Good" he says.

"Just good?" Bella raised her eyebrows.

"It's _excellent_ " he says, helping himself to another bite. 

"So they just have Fredrick, huh? No sisters?" He asks. 

Bella set down her fork. "Cupcake, is that really what you should be worried about? After what your mother told me…"

"No, no. It's not like that" he says, holding up a hand. "It's _so_ not that, Bella, don't worry. I'm not looking for a girlfriend or _boyfriend_ anytime soon." 

Bella let out a relieved sigh and her stern look softened. 

"That's good. As long as you're here, I want you to be free to make your own choices, but I won't sit by while you get yourself hurt again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's snowing and its sticking and its super slick. And im still probably going to have school. -_- one day a person gonna die on the way to school because its snowed and slipply. *cries* and the last episode of sherlock series three _His Last Vow_ is going be on tonight on _pbs Masterpiece_ oh! And my seahawks kicked the Broncos ass.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh.

"What did my mom say?" He asks, mashing a piece of pie crust with his fork.

"Enough. I wanted to understand the situation. It's hard to be old, let alone old and living with a teenager. I wanted too make an imformed decision about having you come live with me."

"That's fair" he says, though the possibly that Bella would have said no to him coming there and even occurred to him before. But then again, maybe he would've done the same thing-wondered why anyone would want to live in a country trailer with his elderly not aunt.

"Let's make an agreement" Bella said after she has finished off her slice of pie. "Let's promise to tell each other the truth even if it's hard.

"Okay, I'll try"

"No trying, only doing" Bella says.

He shrugged and they shook on it. 

"So, about the boys around here…"

Bella let out a exasperated sigh. "You'll meet the boys in town at school on Monday. Then you can ask me all the questions in the world." She picked up their empty plates and patted him on the shoulder as she passed him on the way to the kitchen.

He wipes the pie crumbs from the side of his mouth and stares out at the woodlot. Beyond there, the mist of the clearing was probably dissipating, dissolving back into the night aky. And there somewhere Hannibal. He hopes Bella was right. Maybe he will see him at school. 

It would be amazing to start off the year knowing one person who didn't to be a jerk. He goes back into the house, Winston following right behind him. Did he actually have a reason to look to Monday? He couldn't believe himself.

∞

His enthusiam for school faded quickly, he really wanted to be a new person, but he didn't want to have to talk about himself, and in every _fucking_ class. His teachers made him stand and give the class his life story. By noon on Monday, everyone in his school knew his name and where he was from. He was officially _the new boy_ and he hates it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _  
>  **UGH**   
>  _


	20. Chapter 20

At lunch, he took one of the few vacant seats in the small cafeteria, where every single person his classes seemed to be eating all at one time. In his old school.

There were four different lunch periods, so the kids were staggered in groups. Here, there was only one for the high schoolers.

Earlier in the day, the junior high school kids used the rooms, so the tables were good and messy by the time they arrived for lunch.

But almost making up for that, the food is served by two nice lunch ladies, who asked him his name and then gave him extra french fries as a welcome.

The chicken sandwich for him was all right, though maybe a little chewy and glopped with too much mayo. He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully while he tries not to pay attention to the fact that everyone at the table is sneaking looks at him. 

He saw the gril from the grocery store stroll into the lunchroom, Abigail and her friends trailing behind her in a giggling bunch. 

The girl with the firey red-haired girl next to him must have noticed his stare.

"Alana Bloom," she says.

"Yeah, I met her"

Over in line, Alana caught his eye and waves at him, he gives her a half smile and goes back to sipping his soda. The boy next to his pauses in midbite of his sandwich and says. "I've known her since preschool she's not all that great."

"I think she's hot" says a boy across his way. "You know, we're neighbors" he says gesturing at him with his fork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's not talk about the weather. I want kill a bitch.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my updates for this fic will be a littler slower then usual like every other week.

"You and me. Not me and Alana, she lives out on Russell Road. You live at Bella's place"

He boy next to Will snorted. "Fredrick. Information overload. Give the dude a chance to get used to us. In the city, that's called stalking, right?" He took another bite of his sandwich.

"Well, I'm from Seattle, if that's what you mean by city. It's not like I lived in a high rise or something.," he replies with a shrug he glances over at Fredrick, who has dark eyes and hair to match, his skin a cross between peach and pale, his smile could kill things, but his humor makes up for his darkness.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Will. Bella told me about you."

"I know. She called my dad and asked me to sit with you at lunch" his cheeks went red. "Oops. I wasn't supposed to say that. Sorry"

The boy next to him barely stifled his laugh.

"I would've sat next to you on the bus, but my mom gives me rides in the morning, she's the lunch lady with the brown hair" he says.

"It's so not cool to have your mom be a lunch lady, but sometimes she gives me extra food.

"I just met her, she's nice." He says. "And I didn't take the bus this morning either"

"Smart." The boy wipes his mouth with a napkin.

"I'm Jackson, by the way."

"Fredrick's PR coach, right?" He asks around a bite of fry.

He cracks a smile

"I like to think of myself as more of a handler."

"So, you a ride to school? That's good. Wait til you ride the bus home today-it takes forever down the back roads."

"Oh, great" he was suddenly glad Bella insisted on driving him this morning. As her tuck idled in the crowded parking lot, she hugged him and then tucked a few wrinkled bills in his hand for lunch.

When Bella pulled away, he barely resisted the urge to run after her truck. Instead he sucked it up and walked toward the school steps.

This is what he wanted. So why did he feel so scared?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If your wondering why I described his smile, it because his smile freaks me out, and his humor kinda makes up for it, or what humor he has in _Hannibal_
> 
> Anywho.


End file.
